| NORTHFORK |
 2003 –
USADirector: Michael Polish - Reviewed by Eric
Review: Northfork is one of those movies that will garner two kinds of reviews: the kind that hail it as one of the best films of the year (and one of the best films of all time, as I read in one review), and the kind that deems it a meandering snoozefest. And then there's me. I'm torn, because while the practical side of my brain points out that I was still asking myself, When is it going to start already? an hour into the film, the other side of my brain hasn't been able to stop contemplating Northfork since I walked out of the theater. It doesn't really have any character development or a plot; like a David Lynch movie, neither of these things are the point. The film exists as a vehicle for philosophical abstractions and commentary that I only wish I understood. The basic premise here involves a small 1950s town that will be flooded and turned into a lake in two days. Most of the residents have been moved out, but a group of men in black (including James Woods, Peter Coyote, and one Mark Polish) have arrived to uproot the last stubborn citizens of Northfork. The film cuts freely between this reality and the surreal dreamscapes of a sick young boy, though it becomes increasingly evident that neither one makes any more literal sense than the other, and that the boy's delusions may in fact not be figments of his imagination. Like a dream, Northfork does not build up, climax, and build back down again—it simply starts, and continues until it ends. Characters and events seem to represent something more than literal. Any explanations beyond that were not given or grasped by me. The Polish brothers are well-known for their extraordinary visual style, and if you find that your mind is mad at you for making you watch this movie, your eyes will be thanking you for weeks. The whole movie looks and feels like a dream; evocative washed-out blues and grays make the movie look like a living photograph from the era, but also serve to intensify the atmosphere of deep melancholy that nearly swallowed me whole. Images of a graveyard which must be completely excavated before the flooding remind us that Northfork is much sadder than a ghost town, because not even its ghost will remain. Like I said, I've been turning Northfork over in my head ever since I left the theater. The breathtaking imagery and mournful atmosphere still haunt me. However, I simply cannot deny my disappointment that I failed to "get" the film. If you prefer movies that don't require this much "getting," it's my duty to advise you to see something else. If, on the other hand, you're adept at figuring this stuff out OR you simply don't need to figure it out to appreciate its beauty (which is my reason for giving it such a high rating), I'm sure you'll consider Northfork to be one of the best films of the year. As for me, I'll just be sitting here on the fence, waiting for Northfork's wide release so I can get some answers from the real critics. |
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Synopsis: A dream cast enriches this surreal, spectacularly visual rendering of the American dream and its effects on the denizens of a small town in the '50s. From the Polish brothers responsible for Twin Falls Idaho, and the SIFF 2001 and Independent Spirit Award-winner Jackpot.
